The giant awakens

Chris Barrett

THE sleeping giant of this Test series has woken from his slumber. Dale Steyn likes to combat the general assumption and the findings spat out by the ICC rankings calculator, that he is the finest fast bowler in the world. Don’t believe a word of it.

Modest in nature, menacing by trade, Steyn had not exactly been a flop since turning up here a month ago. He captured only the one wicket in Brisbane, but discreetly snaffled four amid the milestones and drama in Adelaide.

On Saturday, though, the real Steyn stood up and not even he could talk down the gem that sent Michael Clarke packing, not for a couple of hundred but less than a half dozen. The South African pace frontman produced the knockout punches as Australia, entering day two of the deciding third Test with its nose in front, was stopped in its tracks faster than security pouncing on the beer snake scallywags in the Prindiville Stand.

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Clarke’s team lost four wickets in the first half-hour of play, three at the hands of Steyn (4-40), to fall to 6-45, a teetering total that was beginning to make the Proteas’ first-innings 225 appear titanic.

For a minute or two, dark memories of Cape Town last November flashed back. A feisty 68 by Matthew Wade and 32 from debutant John Hastings averted absolute disaster but Australia was rolled for 163, its aspirations to pinch South Africa’s top ranking suddenly wavering.

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By mid-afternoon Australia’s hole was becoming deeper. There was momentary brightness after tea when Mitchell Johnson completed a brilliant caught and bowled dismissal of Alviro Petersen for 23 – lunging forward at a skied ball that clattered off the shoulder of the bat then scooping it up like it was a porcelain vase about to hit the living room floor.

However, Graeme Smith (47 not out) and Hashim Amla (47 not out) then set about driving ambitious Australia out of the match and series, with a lead of 185 runs just after tea.

Matthew Wade's smart counterattacking was all that stood between Australia and first innings oblivion. Photo: Getty images

From the outset Steyn looked in the mood to cause headaches for Australia’s top order.

Upstairs, Dennis Lillee was walking the aisles of the media centre. He would have been proud of this devilish display – professing his affinity for "chin music" – as the bouncers flew off a lively WACA Ground deck.But it was Steyn’s probing length and late swing that took care of a reckless David Warner (13) and then nightwatchman Nathan Lyon in the third over of the day. The off-spinner had been mistaken for Ricky Ponting when he was sent in late on Friday, sparing the retiring 37-year-old the twilight tightrope walk against South Africa’s fired up attack.

As it turned out Lyon’s seven was more than Ponting could manage. A near full house in Perth had gathered, riding every ball and minute in their hope that the champion ex-captain could walk away on top.

What they got instead was an anti-climax. On four, Ponting was trapped leg-before with an off-cutter by Steyn’s off-sider Vernon Philander.

Steyn then went in for the kill. A keen hunter and fisherman his prize this time around was Clarke, the biggest fish in the sea of world batsmen at the moment. It took the best ball of the series, by anyone, to hook the Australian captain and it worked, turning Clarke inside out on five.

Mike Hussey and Wade put on 55 together, most of them from the Victorian gloveman’s blade, to ease the pain but, when the veteran left-hander nicked Morne Morkel on 12, Australia was back in deep trouble.

Wade, channelling his maiden hundred in the Caribbean in April, withstood everything thrown at him by Steyn and Co. and took to left-arm orthodox Robin Petersen, giving him the Imran Tahir treatment with three sixes in a run-a-ball 50.

He later combined with state teammate Hastings before being undone sweeping by the man he had been slogging.

Petersen, buoyed by that breakthrough, picked up two more late wickets including that of Hastings, thanks to a clever two-part catch on the boundary by his namesake Alviro, who tossed the ball up to himself as he stepped back over the rope.